Forgotten Sparks
by SonOfMor0s
Summary: Harry was young, alone, and hurt. His entire life was spent hating himself for not being good enough. He could never see the person who cared for him, but she was always there. Follow the story of childish infatuation turned into something stronger.
1. Dementors and Dursleys

Dementors and Dursleys

Harry jerked away looking into the darkness around him as a loud noise woke him up. Everything around him was silent, like the crash he heard had never happened. He peered into the blackness of his room, trying to find his glasses on his nightstand. Another loud bang was heard downstairs, followed by a shrill scream. Harry doubled his pace and after a few seconds gripped them in his hands and placed them on his face quickly. Now that he could actually see he jumped off his bed and rushed to the door. The door opened with a dull creak and by the time he opened it, everything had fallen silent again. Little Whinging was one of his least favorite places on the planet, narrowly beat out by Azkaban. The place had kept him captured for almost 15 years. Number 4 Privet Drive was not the ideal place for a wizard, or any other person who wasn't completely boring.

The Dursley house was one of the dullest places in the world, they hated anything out of the ordinary. His "family" hated him more than he could understand: he had never hurt them, cast any sort of spells on them, or even remotely done anything to piss them off (on purpose). No, the reason wasn't because Harry was an awful person, or because he kicked babies...no the reason was because he was born with powers they couldn't fathom and that scared them greatly. His entire life was spent knowing nothing about his abilities or even his parents. Harry truly believed his parents were drunks who had gotten themselves killed and left him burdened on the Dursleys. It took almost a decade and a flying motorcycle to make him realize all the weird thing he thought happened when he was younger: The glass disappearing at the zoo, his teacher's wig turning blue, him re growing all his hair overnight had actually happened and hadn't been his imagination

 _What the fuck is going on_ he asked himself in his head. He took the stairs slowly, straining to hear. The house was absolutely silent except for a sharp humming sound. When he reached the bottom of the stairs he glanced around the living room, it seemed almost peaceful to him considering all the hatred thrown at him if he walked around down here during the daytime. The Dursleys had just now decided that he was too old to be locked in his room. They probably just feared he would snap one day and turn the brutish family into spoons or other types of cutlery.

His musings were cut short when he heard a low growl from his aunt's and uncle's bedroom. He reached for his pocket for a second before he realized his wand was in his trunk, locked in his old room under the stairs. With a short exhale he stalked towards the offending room the noise was coming from. He put his hands on the knob slowly debating on whether this was a good idea, if it was nothing but particularly loud snores from Vernon, he would get beat until he couldn't move. As he was debating in his head he heard Dudley whimper from the room. Harry rashly turned the handle and charged into the room to meet an insane sight. Standing over Dudley was a hooded figure shrouded in black. The only thing you could see of him beside his cloak was his long boney hands. There was a blue funnel coming from its mouth as it was getting closer to his idiotic cousin. Before he knew what he was doing a silver mist shot out in front of him and made the cloaked beast turn. It had no face, but its head stopped on him for what felt like hours. It released Dudley and turned its full attention on Harry.

Wandless and petrified, Harry met his aunt and uncles' eyes. They were cowering behind their bed and made no move to get up. _If only they didn't take my fuckin wand_ he thought in unfiltered hatred. He knew this beast from many books and past experiences...dark cloak...bony hands...loss of all happiness.

"Dementor" harry muttered out loud.

He was royally fucked, standing before him was one of the elite guards of Azkaban. They could take someone's happiness by standing near you, and your soul with a single kiss. The beast locked on him for a second and just hovered without moving an inch. As if something had ticked it off it shrieked and charged at him hands outstretched. He closed his eyes in fear and held up his own hands. With his hands in the air, he screamed the only thing he could think of

"Expecto Patronum!"

He didn't know why he did it, but he never opened his eyes. After a few seconds he peeked behind his lids to see that the beast was gone, and a solid blue ethereal stag stood where it had moments ago. He looked at his hands in shock. He had **never** casted a spell without his wand, but he had just summoned his Patronus... his hands were shaking slightly as he couldn't truly understand what had just happened. His attention on his hands, he never noticed Dudley standing up. An explosion of pain emerged right above his left ear. He fell to the ground clutching it and looked up at his cousin in rage.

"what are you doing?" demanded harry

"you tried to fuckin kill us!" bellowed Dudley in anger and slight fear from what he witnessed

Harry looked at the dense git with unbelievable shock...he had just saved his horrible relatives from being hollow husks who could do nothing but breath.

"I just saved your life **Diddy-kins** " he spoke with poorly concealed hatred.

He looked at his aunt and uncle to see their reaction, hoping they would see reason. They looked just as, if not more enraged than their flabby son. Vernon got up and charged at Harry, lifting him by his shirt.

"NONSENSE, THAT WAS ONE OF YOU WIZARDING FREAKS" he seethed in rage

Harry's mind was overloaded and angered beyond belief. Before he could take action, Vernon flew against the opposite wall. Petunia shrieked and ran to her obese husband in fear. Everyone stood still like the room was a standoff. After Vernon's short flight, Dudley didn't seem keen on making a move at his freak of a cousin. His small brain only understood one thing, his cousin conjured that beast and was still trying to kill him and his parents.

"that was a dementor...I didn't summon him, he came after me trying to kill me in my sleep probably" Harry said flatly...waiting for someone to attempt to charge him again.

"you can't do IT outside of your...you know where...they will kick you out boy!" roared Vernon, but he still seemed uncomfortable around the M word.

Cold fear entered Harry's body. It finally hit him what he had just done. He had used magic not only in front of one muggle...or two...but three of them. He would be expelled for sure, assuming he wasn't already. Fuck expulsion he might be a criminal if the ministry officials where in a bad mood.

"Then I have nothing to lose, so back up before I blow you all to smithereens." he said lowly but with an undoubtable intensity that even someone as thick as Dudley could pick up.

His relatives pressed themselves against the wall firmly, shaking in fear, as he backed out of the room still pointing his hands at them for little to no reason...he couldn't honestly control his magic well at all without his wand. He walked to his old room under the stairs and found it locked with what seemed like 5 different types of locks. He looked at the locks and concentrated. Seconds later the locks all turned into dust and slowly fell and settled on the carpet at his feet. _What is happening?_ He thought questioningly. He had always been able to do a little magic when he was really mad, but this was insane. He reached into the cupboard and drug his trunk out. this trunk contained everything he owned except his owl Hedwig. Who had been set loose from her cage and couldn't get to Harry through his barred windows. She had stayed outside his window like a true friend until she finally listened to Harry and flew away in the night. He was happy she had left and could fly away and be free, but it hit his heart like a heavy hammer, that he was still stuck in his own personal Dursley filled hell.

As he wheeled his trunk out of the prison that had kept him out of the wizarding world for over a month and a half, he felt elated. He knew he should be scared and worried but the ability to just go anywhere was exhilarating. _I'm free from them_ he mused and slowly walked down the street. He had nowhere else to go and no one to take him in, but he could care less at the moment. There was some slight nagging fear in his head, a little voice whispering _you are all alone...no one will help you...no one loves you_ he ignored the voice for the most part and continued trudging on. after walking for what felt like hours he came to rest on the side walk. It was pitch black out still and he was tired and cold. He glanced around him looking for anything when he spotted a bench across the street. He shrugged and started crossing the road, there was no better option anyway. As he reached it he heard an incredibly loud horn blare in the distance. He ignored it and laid down flat on the bench. He continued thinking about the day until his mind blurred and he fell into the blackness of sleep.

It felt like a single second before he was woken by a harsh shoving. His green orbs flew open and locked with a pair hovering over him. His face was inches from Harry's, and his breath was not exactly minty. his face was pimply with a large nose, and a small mouth. His eyes were a cloudy blue, they were fixed hard on his.

"you gon' ge' up o' wha?' he spoke in a strong accent. It sounded like he was mashing his words together and he instantly thought of Hagrid.

"who are you?" asked harry as he quickly set up and reached for his wand, but didn't pull it out.

"Stan Shunpike, at ya' service!" he tipped his hat and gave a toothy grin. Harry looked past him and saw what looked like a bus with 3 floors.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know you" slurred harry still drowsy with sleep "what do you want?"

"ya' called me mate, I just showed up" he talked slowly with a grin, like Harry was a slow child.

His head was spinning...had he called this random stranger? Definitely not. So, who did? He stopped thinking about it as Stan motioned to the bus.

"we don' have all nigh'" he spoke lazily. Harry weighed his options...wandering London alone or ride a random bus that was magically called for him. He nodded and turned for his trunk, but Stan stopped him with a polite "let me" and moved to lift his trunk. Harry turned and boarded the crazy looking bus. As he got in he was really surprised, the bus looked much bigger on the inside. It was twice as wide on the inside and almost twice as long. The walls were dark blue and the bus was seperated into many different room like areas with a bed and a nightstand. At the end of the bus there was a ladder leading to the other floors. Harry started walking along the bus and spotted many sleeping wizards and witches. Near the very end of the bus, there was an empty seat where he plopped down and called home. Stan dumped his trunk at the foot of his bed, gave a farewell wave and walked back to the front. He sat on the bed and thought about the day...it had been crazy to say the least. He fully laid down with no plans of resting in case of emergency, but once his head touched the pillow It was all over. He blinked once and was out like a light.

 **A/N: Hi! My name is Nick and I have been thinking about writing something for a while, and thought this was a fun idea. I would be really happy with any review but please be constructive! I don't know how often I will upload and I haven't even given it thought honestly. Maybe more feedback will speed up my writing juices so don't be shy. I'll see you guys next chapter.** 😊 


	2. Unexpected Arrivals

**A/N: hey guys! In this story I'm going to change the worth of currency some. A Galleon is worth $50, a Sickle is worth $10, and a Knut is worth $1. its just simpler for me.**

 **Unexpected Arrivals**

A loud whistle drew Harry from his, for once, dreamless sleep. His eyes opened full of sleep and curiosity. He was amazed to find himself lying down on a bed in the Knight bus, honestly believing that yesterday was nothing more than a wild dream. Harry had plenty of those when it came to getting away from the Dursley's, but he could not help the mixed feelings of fear and excitement running through his head. HE, Harry Potter, was finally free from his sadistic "family", if that's what you could call his bonified prison wardens.

"Morn' sunshine" chuckled Stan, the bus man.

Harry snapped his attention to the older wizard, and let out a small smile. Stan was just such a happy person after only dealing with Diddykins and crew all summer.

"where am I?" questioned Harry as he sat up in his bed. He gazed around the bus and noticed unlike last night, hardly any other magical folk were aboard. There were only two people aside from Stand and the conductor, one was an incredibly short wizard with a hat that seemed taller than him. His beard was long and his eyes were a bright baby blue, and he had an air of friendliness radiating from him. The other was a woman with a headdress over her face and flowing violet robes that covered from her neck to her toes. Finally zoning back in he directed his attention back to Stan.

"- and I was thinkin' tha' you looked familiar" Stan was rambling and staring at his forehead intently. "could I please ge' your name sir?"

Harry sighed at being recognized, his entire life was a series of people recognizing him and then them freaking out like he was a pop star. Harry truthfully hated being famous for something he couldn't even remember. The bitter feeling of never really being normally put Harry in a sour mood and his response to Stan was more than a little clipped.

"Neville Longbottom, where are we?"

Stan looked doubtful but that didn't stop his blinding smile.

"we'r in Scotlan' at the mom' lad."

"SCOTLAND!" exclaimed harry in surprise, it took him second to remember he was on a magical bus that could move faster than any muggle transportation. He glowed red as he politely asked Stan how long it would take to get to London. Stan leaned in and, barely audibly, whispered to him with a wink.

"For you. As fas' as she'll take us"

Okay, maybe being famous wasn't so bad all the time inwardly smiled Harry. He watched Stan practically skip back to the front of the bus and whisper something to the driver. Suddenly the bus flew forward and started going faster than what should even be possible, magical or not. Harry glanced out the window and everything was blurring by at break-neck speeds. He flattened himself on the bed and removed his wand from his pocket, 11" of holly and phoenix feathered badassery. The wand was his first real possession he had that actually mattered to him. It was beauty at its finest, but its reputation was tarnished but the evil of its brother wand. The phoenix that shed the feather for his wand feathered only one other...the other just so happened to be in the possession of the darkest wizard to have ever existed.

 _Voldemort_ seethed Harry in his head. The beast had taken his parents from him. Along with hundreds of other wizards who attempted to resist him. The period he reigned over Britain was called the dark days by anyone with a brain in their head and a heart in their chest.

His train of thought crashed when he heard a loud sound like steam hissing. He glanced out his widow again taking in the scenery. The bus was parked outside of a shabby pub in the middle of London. The place seemed completely normal for most people, but to Harry, a veteran student at one of the greatest wizarding school in the world, it housed something truly magical. The Leaky Cauldron was a normal looking pub with a nice and homey interior. A long wooden bar that stretched the far wall with a dozen individual tables for groups scattered around the ground floor. Behind the bar stood a tall man with a bald head polishing a pint to a near shine. He was a broad shouldered with a long beard tinged with gray. The place was littered with a few people here and there, but not as full as he had seen it on many occasions.

"Hi Tom!" shouted Harry

"The-boy-who-lived? In my bar? He jowled at the younger boy. Tom was a kind man who had always been fair to everyone, unless you skipped paying for your drinks. He was a nice enough, but could turn into a complete hard-ass on the flip of a switch. Instead of responding Harry just sat at the bar and ordered a butterbeer, a magical drink that was so lightly alcoholic it could be served to minors. Tom reached under the bar and handed him a bottle without saying a word. As soon as his hand left the bottle he resumed cleaning his glass and staring at the front door intently.

Harry glanced at the bottle in his hands as his mind went to his "best friends". It had been almost two months and he hadn't received a single letter from either of them. It hurt him more than he let on as he felt neglected by them both. He felt childish for thinking like this but he had just spent most of his summer pent up without a single word from the outside world. Ron, his gangly looking read-headed best friend had driven a flying car to the Dursley's in their 2nd year, but this year hadn't even sent a bloody owl! And Hermione...it hurt quite a bit that she had said nothing, he felt bad, but honestly looked forward to her letters more. It seemed like she really put effort into writing to him, while Ron's letters were mostly pointless rants about Quidditch or his adventures with his twin brothers.

His mind momentarily forgot about his anger as he reminisced about his longtime friend and housemate. The short brunette might have been small, but she was a powerhouse when it came to school or mistreated magical creatures. She was always there for him when he needed her. In there 3rd year she had slugged Malfoy so hard the git didn't come near her for a week. She had saved his life more than once and he honestly couldn't explain how important she was to him. She was the most loyal person he had ever met. She was easily the smartest person in their year, maybe even the whole student body. _She also left you alone all summer_ whispered a little voice in the back of his mind. Maybe she just couldn't send a letter, he argued to the voice in his head. That HAD to be it, his Hermione wouldn't just leave him hanging like that….maybe Ron, he reasoned, but never Hermione. Wait had he just thought about Hermione being his? He shook his head and tried to dispel those thoughts, they were just really close friends...that's all.

He stood rather abruptly, and Tom raised his eyebrows. Harry reached into his pockets and searched for some money to cover for the drink. As he felt nothing but lint and broken dreams in his pocket it hit him, all his money was in his vault at Gringotts, the wizard bank run by goblins, and his aunt and uncle hadn't given him a dime.

"I don't-" he was cut off in the middle at his feeble explanation when Tom gave him a wide smile. His hoped soared as the man didn't seem angry at Harry's lack of payment.

"you stopped He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Harry, you can drink for free whenever you want; as long as I'm legally able to sell it to you!" he winked at him in a friendly way. Harry grinned but felt that it wasn't fair to not have to pay for killing an evil being he couldn't even remember slaying.

"Not a chance Tommy, as soon as I get to my vault I will pay for this" he lifted the butterbeer in respect to the man and took a pull. Sure it wasn't too alcoholic but Tom got the gesture. He took a bow and then strode down the table to a man who had just walked in. Harry took that as his que to move to a booth across the bar and gulp his drink down in silence. He need to visit Diagon Alley but was scared of being recognized. He had never been to the crazy place alone, and was worried he would get in too deep and buy everything. The alley was just too compelling at times and he felt like he could spend days in it and barely scratch the surface.

He stood up and waved to Tom before making his way to the back room of the pub. Behind the bar was an empty courtyard with a brick wall on the far side.. it was older than all the other walls, the bricks were graying. It looked ordinary and unimportant, but behind that wall stood the greatest market of magical goods in all of Britain. Harry withdrew his wand from his back pocket and tapped his head in thought. _Seventeen up, eleven right_ sang a voice in the back of his head as he spotted the seemingly normal looking brick. He tapped it with his wand and the bricks started pulling away from each other, until finally, a doorway stood in front of him. He walked through it and fell into a completely different world. The ground was cobbled with ancient looking stones, and the streets were alive and bustling. Even though he had just come in from a pub, he could see the bright sky without a cloud in sight. There were shops everywhere along the street and it seemed to go one for miles. He was lightly shoved from behind as he realized he was marveling in the beauty for maybe a little too long. Harry started walking down Diagon with his eyes staying on the people in front of him, trying not to look at all the amazing things on show by the shops.

You don't need a new broom…you don't need a new broom…you don't need a new broom was repeated in his head over a dozen times as his eyes slipped and came into contact with Quality Quidditch Supplies.

The Firebolt!

The fastest broom to eve be produced!

This state-of-the art racing broom has unsurpassable balance and pinpoint precision.

It is a piece of aerodynamic perfection

Harry couldn't justify buying the broom, even if he had his money on him. He already had one of the fastest broom that had never failed him, but he couldn't deny the perfection of the Firebolt. The trip to Gringotts was a lot faster with his daydreams of him lifting the Quidditch house cup with his left hand, and a shiny new Firebolt in his right. Carried by his teammates as they screamed insults and taunts at the Slytherins. He walked up the great steps that built up to the massive marble building. The door was solid gold with crystal glass, but not a normal door...this one was tall enough that Hagrid could walk through easily with a generous amount of room still left. He reached to pull the doors open when a comically short man opened it for him. Oh, Not a man, the being that Harry mistook for a man was, in fact, a goblin. Not even five feet tall with hawkish features and dust bunny gray hair.

"thank you sir" smiled Harry. The goblin didn't smile back, but just looked at him in what seemed like blatant distaste. In a slightly worse mood than when he approached the building, Harry walked to the front desk. Another goblin, somehow even shorter, was waiting on him with a smile.

"hello, name please?" asked the goblin in a much friendlier tone then their door man. "Harry Potter" muttered Harry, still miffed from his previous altercation. The goblins smile stretched dangerously across his entire face as he eyed Harry's hairline, no doubt looking for his mark from that fateful night. The "souvenir" Voldemort had left him made his life impossibly harder. Anybody who even looked at Harry's face instantly saw it and started swarming him. He HATED being famous, almost as much as he hated Voldemort. He could never do anything in public without someone freaking the fuck out.

Deeming the scar enough proof, he waved his arms and led Harry behind the counter. "we have been waiting Mr. Potter…don't forget to buckle up." murmured the goblin as he steered Harry to something that look like a mine cart. Before he loaded into it he looked over the edge and saw, what looked like, a demented roller coaster.

"no one can move this cart but a Gringotts employee…a safety feature to protect the wealth into the vaults below." informed the goblin. Harry had been here a few times and received the same information every time by a different goblin manning the same mine cart. He closed his eyes as his heart soared at the incredible speed the cart go reach. His hair was whipping all around him and his stomach was turning, Before he could empty it though the cart stopped altogether. He opened his eyes to see two huge rock arches. It was obvious they were miles beneath the surface. As he followed his little friend, they turned down many corridors. The walls were just endless amounts of solid cold covered vaults doors. The goblin seemed to walk for what felt like miles before he stopped and finally stopped at a vault, almost identical to every other. The only difference in this vault, was the number printed across the front of it. Vault **687** had been in the family for generations, held by his ancestors before him, or so says his abnormal tour guide. The goblin could have run with Professor Binns for the most boring people to ever breath...and Binns was a ghost for heavens sake. Harry glanced at his name tag for the first time today, it read, Zryd. Pleased to know his name, Harry watched Zryd walk up to his vault with a key in his hand. The key was hilariously big in his little hands, but that didn't stop his as Harry's vault opened with a loud click.

He turned and waved his hand at the vault. Harry nodded and stepped through the vault door and felt his heart stop.

"ho...how...how much is here?" questioned Harry, shocked still. The room that held his family fortune was, probably more than twice as full than it was last year. The coins were in the very center of the room. The pile was taller than him and wider then even Hagrid.

"well...i though you would ask that" he said with a crooked smile. "your family, the Potters, that is, left you 20, 000 Galleons" he stated. Harry wasn't too shocked, he heard the same number in his first year. There was definitely more than that here though, which disturbed him slightly. The goblin was reading from a book.

"The spike in currency in your vault, is because of your godfather" spoke the goblin, warily looking at his sheet again. "The Black household….they left you….everything….60, 000 Galleons" he stated in shock, eyes wider than half dollars. Harry's world flipped on its head, _g_ _odfather!?_ roared in his head. Harry wasn't even aware he had anything close to family left, obviously not counting the Dursleys.

"Who is my godfather?" asked Harry, after what felt like minutes of silence.

"Sirius Black" growled the goblin, sudden and white hot anger rising in his eyes.

"oh" was all Harry could muster. He walked into the vault with a satchel, and filled it full to the brim. He made eye contact with Zryd and the goblin took the hint. He turned and made his way to the trolley. The ride back was silent, neither spoke. The goblin didn't attempt to educate Harry this time, seemingly not even noticing he was there. The lobby appeared faster than Harry thought possible, Harry pushed his way through Gringotts. When the door was held open for him this time, he didn't even look at the doorman. He floated back to The Cauldron, mind in the clouds. He had other family, maybe ones that cared about him and wanted him. _Don t be stupid, if they were alive they wouldn't have left you all of their money._ The rational part of his brain reasoned with him, but his heart wouldn't hear any of it. Before he realized it he was at The Cauldrons front entrance.

He pushed through the doors and spotted Tom serving a group in a booth. Harry paid them no attention and sat at the counter in silence. Finally, Tom finished with the other group and came to the bar in front of Harry with his trademark smile on his face. When he noticed Harry didn't smile back, his slipped off.

"everything okay" he asked quietly, wary of the others in the barroom Harry looked at him and debated on whether he should tell him, and decided to just say fuck it.

"who is Sirius Black?" he asked at last. The reaction was instant, Tom stopped leaning on the bar and stared at him in immense worry.

"why do you ask Harry?" he mumbled trying to pretend the question didn't dig at him. His reaction said he obviously knew him. Harry practically jumped at him.

"hes my godfather" crowed Harry. Debating on telling him about the money. Tom sighed loudly and looked at Harry with a face full of sadness.

"he isn't your godfather now, maybe once he was…..never again" his sad expression had a twinge of rage in it.

"why, what happened?" begged harry. He had to know. This was his only chance to have a real family. Tom was just standing as still as a statue. It felt like years before Tom spoke, but when he did, his voice was soft and gentle.

"I'm sorry Harry, its not my place to tell you…you need to ask Dumbledore" seeing Harry's eyes flashing he spoke quickly "i wish I could tell you Harry, I really do, but if Dumbledore hasn't told you yet...I'm sure there is a reason." Harry wanted to be mad at him, but he couldn't. Tom had only ever done right by him.

"i need a drink" hollowly replied Harry. Tom reached under the desk for a butterbeer, but met Harry's eyes. He took a shot glass from the table, slapped it down in front of him and poured an amber liquid in it. Harry downed it in one swallow, the burn was intense, as if he had poured battery acid down his throat. He raised his hand to ask for another when he heard the ambient chatter behind him stop. Then a sound pierced the silence that made Harry's hurt flutter. "Harry!?" the voice came from the table from earlier, the voice was feminine and it sounded surprised. Harry knew that voice like the back side of his hand. It had nagged at him and comforted him for years. He spun around slowly to see glowing brown eyes holding his own.

"why aren't you with your aunt and uncle? She questioned, it took only a second before her surprise turned into a happy smile that filled the room with warmth. Two months without talking, and all it took was one flash of her smile to make him want to forgive her instantly.

"Dementors came to Little Whinging" muttered Harry "no one was hurt, but I think they are finally done with me living there...isn't a real loss" he amended as her face fell. His brain instantly looked for good news, he needed her to smile again...he needed her to be happy. He couldn't handle her being sad too, it would be the last straw.

"wait…you saved them and they kicked you out?" she replied, no longer sad, but with a hint of rage in her voice. "they didn't like monsters coming into their home and endangering their little diddy-kins" he spoke bitterly "Especially for some freak like me" he made steady eye contact with the bar, he couldn't meet Hermione's eyes. He spotted the glass refilled on the counter in front of him, and downed it as fast as he downed the first. Hermione looked at the glass for the first time, and finally understood how bad this situation actually was.

"Harry. You are not a freak...look at me" she pulled his chin away from the table and made his eyes meet hers. "YOU are an amazing person, Harry, they just cant see it though their prejudice against magic." the sincerity in her voice touched him. He placed his glass on the table and looked at in disgust. "I'm sorry Mione', I probably look like a mess right now" he chuckled mirthlessly. She plopped Into the stool beside him and replied cheekily "you always look like a mess" she nudged his shoulder.

"would you like to meet my parents?" questioned Hermione after they sat in silence for a few minutes. It finally hit Harry that SHE and her family were the group at the table. He nodded and got up and followed her when she started to walk over to an occupied booth. As they neared the table he got a good look at her parents. Her father was well over 6 foot tall, with short brown hair without a touche of gray. He had kind eyes and strong features. He and his daughter didn't look much alike, her mother on the other hand, looked like exactly like Hermione. She was slightly taller and her hair was let down, but Hermione was a spitting image of her mother.

"Mom, Dad, meet Harry!" Harry smiled and held his hand out for her father. The older man beamed at Harry and shook his hand vigorously. His grip was strong, and firm. After shaking her fathers hand he went to shake her mothers hand when, instead of reaching her arm out, engulfed Harry in a bone crushing hug. When she released him, he took a seat the seat across from her beside Hermione.

"what are you doing in a bar at this time in the afternoon?" asked Mr. Granger with a raised eyebrow. Harry tripped over his words trying to explain himself when both Mr. and Mrs. Granger started giggling. His inwardly let out a sigh of relief as they laughed it off.

"so I have heard a lot about you young man" teased Mrs. Granger "nothing bad, nothing bad" as the night continued they shared stories and tales of the magical world and all just got to know each other. They were really curious to know more about know him, considering he was Hermione's best friend ….and a boy one at that, added Mr. Granger in a light tone. He told the about Quidditch, the courses at Hogwarts, and even the food that was served. Mr. Granger kept lightly bringing up any boyfriends or boy interests of Hermione's, much to the girl in questions embarrassment. Trying to change the conversation for Hermione's sake, he asked about why the where in The Cauldron.

"we just stopped by to rent Hermione a room" gushed Dan, he had begged not to be called "Mr. Granger", as had his wife. "school is starting back in 5 days, and she wanted to stay here until she boarded the train."

"have you already got a room?" questioned Harry "i will be staying until the start of school too"

"not yet, we were about to rent one when we saw you sitting alone at the bar" explained Dan. Dan and Emma both agreed to go get Hermione's room, and took of the find Tom. Which left the two teenagers alone in the booth.

"at least I wont have to be here alone" mused Hermione with a smile, it would be far more fun with Harry here. As the two were making plans to go shopping together, Emma and Dan returned looking grave with downcast expressions.

"i'm sorry sweet heart, but the place is fully booked" sadly stated Dan, looking a bit miffed. Hermione's smiling face fell again for the second time that night, and Harry couldn't let that stand. His best friend would never be upset if he could help it.

"She could stay in my room?" offered Harry, quickly changing his wording as Dan's face tightened a bit. "Not in the same bed, I could take the couch. There is plenty of room" Dan looked against it for a second until he saw Hermione light up like a Christmas tree .

"i don't know…." started Dan, but Hermione was already in full convince mode.

"it would be great dad, better than me staying alone even." Hermione reasoned "Harry is one of the strongest wizards in our year, we could defend ourselves easily. Not that we would have to…." Hermione started opening both barrels on Mr. Granger as Harry could only wince. Hermione could be the greatest lawyer in the world if enough was on the line. He cut her off and gave up after 5 full minutes of armed conversation.

"you and Harry can share a room, but…." his face could cut glass it hardened so fast. "if I hear about any funny business" he turned to Harry "No one will be happy" his face was steely for one more second, and then he was smiling again.

"how much did the room cost you?" inquired Dan "we will pay for half" Harry appreciated his offer, but had more money than he knew how to spend. He refused them politely and told them he would pay for both of them.

"Now, Its not right to make a sixteen year old pay for his own room" Harry could see that Dan was proud like his daughter, and didn't want any handouts. Hermione always had trouble taking any sort of money from Harry. The only person worse about taking money from him was Ron.

"I have already payed full rent for the next week, sir" spoke Harry politely, "Don't worry about it." Dan seemed like a he wanted to push the subject, but settled on shaking his hand. "Take care of my little girl for me, huh?" he turned and kissed Hermione on the top of the head. "we will keep in touch, see you kids soon!" bellowed Mr. Granger as he and Emma started to leave The Cauldron.

"that is very nice of you Harry" complimented Hermione as she walked towards him. Her smile was addictive, thought harry. "would you like to see our humble abode for the next week Madam Granger?" questioned Harry teasingly. "Quite" she shot back Hermione in an overly snobby voice. They both started laughing and walked towards the stairs. They walked side by side until it finally hit him, he never actually had a room. He just didn't want Hermione to be upset, he lightly shook Her arm when they were almost all the way up the steps.

"uhhhh….this is gonna sound bad" Harry put his hands out in front of him. Hermione raised her eyebrow, and waited patiently. "I hadn't gotten a room yet" he bashfully said, rubbing the back of his neck. She didn't move for a second, and she kept looking at him with unmoving eyes.

"why did you tell my dad you had one?" she questioned, voice rising slightly. Harry's mind went in overdrive thinking of how to explain himself.

"you seemed so sad, I just thought it would make you happy" he slipped out, head lowered not making eye contact. The last thing he expected happened, he heard an angelic laugh. His eyes shot up so fast he thought he would get whiplash.

"you arent mad?" whispered Harry, meeting here eyes. She just shook her head, and flashed her pearly whites. That was all it took for Harry to go from guilty to joyful. Before the conversation could go any farther, he motioned for her to follow him. He tore off down the stairs they had just climbed, looking around the room for Tom. As he crossed the room to a distracted Tom, Harry raised his arm and called the mans name. Tom looked up with a grim smile, thinking more questions about his godfather were coming. After a second Tom noticed a girl trailing closely behind Harry, but didn't comment.

"is there anyway we can get a room? I know you are booked up but we need….." Harry stopped talking as Tom's grim smile fell of to a purely mischievous one. He twirled a key around his finger and asked the question that made Harry glow scarlet in a matter of seconds.

"is this room for you AND your girlfriend?" Tom playfully questioned. Harry spluttered for a few seconds looking for an answer. "we...we're just…friends" he finished lamely. "well….." continued Tom "would you and your friend like to share a room?" stilling grinning evilly. Before he could make anymore of a fool of himself, Hermione stepped forward and swiped the key.

"yes sir" she reached for the key and Tom dropped in into her palm. "Have a goodnight" bellowed Hermione as she was already walking to the stairs. Harry glared at Tom jokingly and sped off after her.

"i'm sorry about Tom" Harry started "he was just joking, i'm sorry if I embarrassed…." Hermione cut him of as she stood on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek. She pulled away and both of them went red. "don't worry about it, I thought it was cute" before he could respond she zoomed into their room. He rubbed his cheek in wonder, the place she had kissed was practically buzzing. He couldn't help but smile as he walked into the dark room, _please let this week never end._


End file.
